Righting Reflexes
- These are a series of reflexes that operate to correct the body position and maintain it by keeping the animals head upright.
- Maintaining stable head position is an integral part of the posture regulating mechanisms. Righting reflexes keep the head in a stable position and the eyes fixed at visual targets despite movement of the body.
- They tend to restore the position of the body when it is altered, by stimulating proprioceptors, tactile receptors, and vestibular receptors.
- The responses are initiated by vestibular stimulation, stretching of neck muscle, pressure on the side of the body or on the limbs, and stimulation of visual receptors. Righting reflexes are a series of responses integrated in midbrain. The following are the righting reflexes: (Read in Landscape orientation on mobile)
| RIGHTING REFLEX | STIMULUS | RECEPTORS | CENTER | RESPONSE |
| Labyrinthine RR | Tilting of Head (Effect of Gravity) | Otolith Organ | Midbrain | Head Kept Level |
| Neck RR | Stretch of Neck Muscle | Muscle Spindle | Midbrain | Righting of Shoulders, Thorax, then Pelvis |
| Body on Head RR | Pressure on the Side of Body | Exteroceptors | Midbrain | Righting of Head |
| Body on Body RR | Pressure on the side of the body | Exteroceptors | Midbrain | Righting of the body even when head held sideways |
| Limb RR | Stretch of the Limb Muscles | Muscle Spindle | Red Nucleus of Midbrain | Righting of the Body |
| Optical RR | Visual Cues | Visual Receptors | Visual Cortex | Righting of the Head |
Grasp Reflex
When a stick or an object is brought close to the limbs of a midbrain animal, the animal grasps the object, and the limbs are extended. This is the grasp reflex. This reflex is a primitive reflex that helps the animal to stand up and support the posture. In humans, it is better observed during infancy and early childhood.
Vestibular Placing Reflex
When a blind folded animal is brought down from a height rapidly, the forelimbs of the animal extend and the toes spread, which assists the animal to steadily land on the ground.
Receptors: Vestibular Receptors
Stimulus: Linear acceleration of the body.
Pathway: Vestibulospinal Tract
Response: Extension of forelimbs and spreading of the toes. It helps the animal to land steadily on the ground.